Trippin'

I have a vacation hangover. Where you wake up in the morning thinking, "what just happened?!?" but it hurts your head to think about it. And yet you know you're totally going to do it again this weekend. 

This is the low-down. Or download. Or whatever of our adventure this weekend. I'm boycotting the use of the word vacation. There are outings, field trips, adventures, but no such thing as a vacation with three littles- let's not kid ourselves.

Monterrey Bay Aquarium- Thumbs up! Kids were in total overwhelm. Picture taking is not so fabulous because all you get is the back of their heads as they stare in wonder.

Camping at Big Sur- Only one picture of Squishy made the cut. Trying to keep track of everything and everyone while hiking, eating, and sleeping in the dirt is about all I could handle. The State Park was great, Riverside Campground- not so much. Crowded and cranky rangers. S'mores and friends saved it.

Pfieffer State Beach- Beautiful and freezing. Scrunch loved it, Porkchop might have had the blowing sand not been right at his eye level.

Hogs Breath Inn- Best thing I ever did was make friends with a foodie! Thumbs way, way up.

Carmel- If I was rich I still wouldn't live there. Driving up and down the 1 (Pacific Coast Hwy) gives me an anxiety attack, but once you're in town you feel all swanky and posh just being there.

Hyatt at Monterrey- Nice. Wish our room had a jetted tub, but now I'm just getting picky.

Beach Party- Thank goodness my son is hard headed since he totally fell off the shuttle bus as we arrived. The hard headedness really kicked in when the tide came in and we had to keep Scrunch out of the water. Camping for two days prior really made the food and accommodations seem that much more awesome.

Twisted Stitch- Knitting shop in Monterey is teeny, tiny but got the job done and I came home with two beautiful skeins of Malabrigo Finito.

Monterey Crepe Company- Yum!

Dennis the Menace Park- Highlight of the trip and we have the most pictures of the kids in playing in the maze. Amazing what having them fenced it can do for my sanity and feeling like I could pull out the camera.

Sonic in Tracy- Strike one! against Sonic, as much as it pains me to say it. No one was more disappointed than I that it was just plain awful. We found a nice park not far away though to stop and get our wiggles out.

Overall I rate this a lovely jaunt, fabulous excursion, or charming expedition. I have officially kissed the notion of a vacation good-bye. It's cool though. You feel all smart and exotic when you can tell people you've just returned from a peregrination. Watch for an upcoming post entitled Peregrinating Portland. Please, for the love! It will make my ten hour trip in the car that much more enriching if I can picture you incorporating peregrination into your next meal with co-workers, in a conversation with a grocery store clerk, or in a Sacrament talk.